


24K Magic

by BrightestOfCrayons



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series, DCU (Comics), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Superman - All Media Types, Superman: The Animated Series
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2018-04-27
Packaged: 2019-02-05 20:09:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12801423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightestOfCrayons/pseuds/BrightestOfCrayons
Summary: A light DCU fan is reincarnated as the twin brother of Superman in the DC Universe, almost every DCU comic fanatic's wet dream! but in Kasey's opinion, Is it total bullsh*t. There are Superheroes and SuperVillains running rampant on the streets, the crime rate is a lot higher than it was on her own version of earth and Lex Luthor might just have an unhealthy desire to dominate her just because she looks like his nemesis Superman but with a smaller build, long hair and a few beauty marks.(Updates at Random/Chapters will often be redone if I find anything eyebrow-raising.)





	1. Unwilling acceptance

The rain always came down in sheets around Smallville, it almost sounded like an ongoing applause and each heavy drop came down hard when slapping the moist fertilized soils of this farming town. The rainfall could go on for several minutes and come to an abrupt stop when you least expected it, or even rain behind the house while leaving the front lawn dry. But sometimes, just like tonight, would it pour everywhere for hours, that earthy scent he had come to love so much caressing his frost nipped nose, as did the chill against his soft tanned blemishless skin. The unfamiliar flesh that was never meant to wrap his undeserving innards, and if not for the small beauty mark under his lip on the right, or the one under his eye sitting just above a cheekbone on the far left corner, would Kasey feel even more like a carbon copy of what was to become the man of steel than he already is.

 

Twisting a small wild daisy between his fingers, did tears roll down his cheeks, blending in with the pouring rain running down his face. Wrapping his body was a soft and once warm but now soaked light lavender plush fleece that left no curve and chiseled feature unnoticed, what with the way the wet fabric stuck to his body, the faux-fur-lined hood having drooped from the thorough soaking making the upper half of his long robe hang loosely around his shoulders, brushing the underside of his long medium length wavy mane, his cuffed sleeves small ties dripping water into the murky shallow stream where he stood barefoot in the center of it, the current brushing past his ankles. His fleece slippers sat off to the side by the stream, the slow current licking and dirtying the tips.

 

Looking up at the foreign moon that both looked and reminded him so much of his own with blue eyes that were once a dark olive green, his full moistened lips parted, revealing the smallest glimpse of his straight pearly whites which were once tea stained and crooked. His gaze wavered from the dazzling sphere of white light unfettered by the clouds, as he brought his right hand up to run his fingers through thick raven black drenched tresses. Were he still living his past life, his thin chestnut brown hair would be a tangled oily mess sticking to his head.

 

 _So much is different, my eyes my nose, my life._ _Why couldn't I have forgotten?_ He thought helplessly, biting his lower lip. _It would have made everything so much easier._

 

His chest gradually rises as he inhales the crisp air, breathing out a forlorn sigh through his nose as his arms rise to criss-cross over his chest, hugging his shoulders imagining himself in the coffin in which his old body surely lay. His features there, surely rotting away.

The chill lures his mind in a daze by his nose, as he finds himself lost in its icy embrace. Strangely, it brought him both Joy and Sorrow. It's what killed him last but gave him peace of mind, an entirely new way of life if where he stood now said anything.

Despite how much comfort the absence of warmth brings him it will eventually remind him why it did, though, and no matter how much he indulges in this unhealthy pull he'll always remember the wrong that lingers. He takes a breath, shutting his eyes and tilts his head upward facing god's thumbnail. Just what brought these series of events? Where had the gusts of frosted winds brought him?

He found himself so lost in this merry weather, that when he stopped himself from falling too hard, he instantly remembered, the betrayal distancing from his heart by years pulling him back and coiling painfully in his chest. As if a sentient being with tendrils made of barbed wire twisting and tearing apart his heart and mind, the varying emotions within his being festering like an open wound until he fled yet again into the cold.

The memories always gave chase, even if they did give him a head start as if a constant nightmare where he could never outrun the terrors that even now he would never dare face. Not alone, and alone he would forever be on the run. Now that Marie is gone.

 

"I'm here, Marie, as you are there but can you hear me?" His voice trembled, pausing to regain his balance less he chose to fall face first in the stream and end it all, but this time by his own hand. The cold waters were tempting, but he couldn't afford to leave, not yet. He swallows the moister gathering in his throat, having fought the urge to wipe away his eyes. His lips trembled, though he continued to talk to a beautiful lost remnant of his past even though she could not hear him."I stand here with very little hope left in me, robbed of my life by those who threw nothing but stones at me whereas you did bones." He chuckled at that last part, knowing Marie would have thought it a little funny if were she here with him. Oh how she loved jokes, the corny ones even more so, though considering his situation Marie might have just stared. "I died with no peace, for you weren't there, and I was Naive enough to hope you would come back to me." He trembled but remained standing. "For the longest time I fantasized you did, if just to hold my hand. Even if was too late." He smiled faintly at the thought, his voice breaking. "It would have made me the happiest in the world."

"But I've found another, Marie, or rather he found me and I ADORE him." With a squelch, his hands gripped the soaked fabric barely clinging to his shoulders tightly almost to the point of stretching the seams. Yes, he'd been found by someone with a heart of gold, a wonderful person. One he would give up everything to for, but never his past. Enough, however to encourage his newfound will to live. Clark Kent.

More than anything did Kasey wish that for once his life could go as smoothly. In Kasey's past life, was he a young girl who had always been the butt of everyone's joke. She was a scrawny and ugly duckling. The kind of person those in her high school tried to avoid whenever possible because she did not live up their shallow standards of what they thought beauty and grace ought to be. The girl her peers and teachers alike deemed a screw-up when she knew she could have made straighter A's in every class had the group of mean girls in her grade stopped shredding her homework whenever they could get their hands on it.

Her distant and busy parents would take one look at her report cards and tell her she wouldn't amount to anything, taking her explanations as excuses, unwilling to listen to her because they hadn't nor wanted the time to really get to know her. She was the accident that brought her parents unwillingly together, after all. Because of this, they resented her for it and kept their distance. What little morals they had left and what people would think of them had they split kept them together.

They threw money at her to leave them be so she could never say she'd been a child who went without wanting, but money didn't buy happiness. Not the kind she wanted, for what was a toy or gold had you nobody to enjoy it with? She had no friends, but she did have a personal library of books and a library card. She visited it quite frequently to drown out all the shouting back home.

The one at her school was spacious enough to avoid the bullies if you knew where to sit. Being surrounded by books gave her a place to dive into the realm of fantasy through reading books filled with adventure! Manga was her second great escape, some of her favorites being Trigun or Hellgirl, often wishing that she too could smile like Vash despite his hardships...That she could be that forgiving... Or maybe have her grievances heard by the legendary purgatory girl, driven by the revenge she often fantasized about taking on the girls and others who made her life hell.

During her second year of high school, the library put in a comic book section and that's how Kasey discovered DC comics where she empathized with Villains like the Killing Joke's joker or how she drooled over heroes like Batman or the animated version of Lex Luthor after he looked so in love with Lana lang just because she told him 'that she liked bad boys.' It was in the library that she met what she thought to be her first friend, a freshman named Marie. Marie was an oddly tall, yet willowy girl with a cute round face, violet almond-shaped eyes, thin lips, strawberry blonde hair and a small button nose. She always had a few old fashioned sterling rabbit clips keeping her short bob haircut out of her face. Marie was often ridiculed for her height but only laughed along with those who teased, often patting those shorter than her on the head which consequently lead to the other tweens alienating her, deeming her 'weird'. But Marie didn't mind what they said or thought, the air about Marie told others she didn't either and so they ignored the strange girl entirely. It lead to Marie spending every ounce of free time she had in the library, mostly around the Manga section.

It's where the two misfits met, It's where Kasey learned about Marie's favorite Manga 'Cromartie High School', genuinely intrigued by the concept of an infamous school for delinquents when it was described and spoken about with such animated enthusiasm when Kasey asked about it. This lead to Marie sharing her copy with Kasey as they eventually started taking turns quoting some of the more subtle and more obscure lines from the manga once farther into the second book, such as.. 'There he is! freddy!' or 'MechazawaIt?! What a soothing voice he has' It was a silly little story that Kasey became enthralled in, a story she treasured because she got to share it with someone who actually enjoyed her company. Somebody who gave a damn. The two girls giggled when reading through the ridiculous situations and characters the main character 'Takashi Kamiyama' had to deal with, that they hadn't noticed their giggles turning into full blown out laughter that disturbed the other students. Eventually, they were kicked out of the library for the day and from then on were the two girls inseparable.

Marie, Kasey had come to find over the years, not only had a bad and very corny sense of humor but was a spectacular strategist befitting of the many silly characters from the goofy girl's favored genre of Manga, Comedy, often sneaking around the mean girls and bullies that bothered Kasey in the most abstract ways imaginable and only when she was able. They always wound up behind stacked mats in the gymnasium after every successful escape. It was their special place they often met up to read or hang out together during their lunch breaks.

Unfortunately, her new interests in superhero comics made Kasey an even bigger target for a wider assortment of tormentors once they found out about that particular interest. Bigger and stronger bullies that not even Marie could help her avoid, but it never stopped Marie from trying. It's how Kasey died actually, cornered in the freezer after Marie's Culinary class with the bubbly strawberry blond at her side. Marie had asked Kasey to help her put away the fresh rolls of pumpkin bread Marie's class had made near the end of that dreadful day, so they could make it back to her house faster and read the latest issue of Gintama that arrived in the mail just the morning before. It was too bad everything went sideways.

Two familiar girls with high positioned ponytails dyed platinum blonde stood back to back in the open doorway, they wore matching hot pink gymnastic leotards that hugged their slender but tone frames, their arms crossed, looking at Kasey as if she was nothing but a steaming pile of bile, did she mention the two were blocking off Kasey's only hope of escape? No? well, they were.

In front of the two scantily clad girls stood Kathrine Addison, wearing a white ribbed knit crop cami top, low riding apple-bottom jeans and a pair of stylish strappy white sandals. Kasey frowned as she watched the girl walk further inside, something almost predatory in Kathrine's stride and the quirking of her full lips. Kathrine was gorgeous, without a doubt. The girl had a skinny hourglass figure, a full triple D bust, long wavy hair the color of spun gold, and the darkest blue eyes.

Kathrine's tan blemishless skin always smelled of expensive lavender perfume and she always had a little bit of glitter patted on her high cheekbones. The girls in her school often said Kathrine's best feature was her long legs, dainty feet, and well-kempt hands which Kasey agreed with. However, the moment the girl began to pelt Kasey and the other undesirables around the school with insults, mostly about their unsightly appearances or how bad they looked no matter how hard they tried to wear and keep up with the latest trends...Well, Kasey's previous thoughts on this girl's beauty were tarnished. It was like the moment Kathrine opened her mouth, she turned into the ugliest person in the room.

Kathrine was on a roll, giving Kasey her daily dose of verbal barbs she'd more than grown accustomed to hearing for at least a minute, something about her teeth then her thin hair. Kasey wasn't really paying that much attention, really, too busy staring off into space like she usually tended to do when she was bullied like this, it wasn't hard to ignore Kathrine. The girl was all bark and no bite, after all. But the moment Marie squeezed Kathrine's hand, Kasey suddenly felt on edge. She glanced up at her willowy friend, quirking her brow and saw fear in those violet eyes which were quickly gathering moisture.

Alarm bells went off in Kasey's head because Marie never let bullies words get to her in the past. _What could those girls have possibly said to make Marie break character like this?_ Kasey turned to face the girls who cornered them, deciding to pay attention to Kathrine for once. There was a jab at Kasey's scrawny body, something about how Kasey should stop trying to wear victoria secret because it would never look good on her bony frame which was nothing new... _So what did Kathrine say that had shaken Marie?_

Kasey wanted to scoff, almost doing so if the two girls behind Kathrine hadn't added their own two cents. It was their stance that startled Kasey, forcing her to take a few steps back as they sneered down at her. They've never done this before, so Kasey wasn't really sure what to expect and it was right then that she realized that Marie might be thinking the same thing. The two gymnastic club members were no longer standing in the doorway, having propped a stool against the door to keep it open at some point during Kathrine's half-assed attempt at roasting Kasey.

They had stepped inside, though Kasey didn't know when they started approaching her like this, she wasn't paying attention. _Y_ _eah, that'd do it._ Or so Kasey thought, though before she could really react or say anything the two girls grabbed her by the shirt, forcing her to look up at them. Hailey and Juliet Jones, identical twins with average faces. Two girls that try waaay to hard to look like Barbie and watched movies like mean girls religiously. The twins jerked her roughly out of Marie's grasp and if that wasn't terrifying enough, Marie had started to edge away from Kasey out of what Kasey guessed was growing panic as the two girls started talking about how they didn't appreciate Kasey's ugly face in their gym or how she got food all over their equipment, which Kasey nor Marie ever did when in there. _They must have found our hiding place._

Kasey was about to defend herself, but any coherent thought was brought to a startling halt when the first punch was thrown. Pure shock and pain from the hard blow to her gut radiated throughout every fiber of her being, the strike making her keel over and vomit on the ground. The girls didn't stop there, however, wailing on her to the point she couldn't move. Even Kathrine got a few good kicks in. It was when she could no longer move on her side came the laughter...Those wicked smiles, the cruel taunting about how Marie left Kasey behind who they claimed was almost as pathetic as Kasey. _Marie is gone?_ Kasey didn't feel very pathetic, just harassed, sore and saddened that Marie would abandon her. She didn't want to believe that, but after looking around...that strawberry blond was indeed absent.

It wasn't enough for these girls that Kasey had been beaten within the inch of her life, or that they got to witness Marie, her only friend, leaving her to be beaten. Kathrine just had to open her mouth again, suggesting that they lock Kasey in the freezer, claiming it would be funny, the other girls having added almost in unison that it would teach her a lesson. A dangerous idea that Kasey was protesting against in incomprehensible slurs.

For eight minutes, Kasey screamed for help, or for Marie, anybody, until her voice grew hoarse. After ten minutes with her cheek resting on the cool tiles, she grew quiet and smiled. Maybe the twins hit her a bit too hard, or the extreme change in temperature was messing with her head, perhaps it was a mental breakdown of sorts she was having. Kasey reckoned it was all of those things mixed with the realization of just how alone she really was...

No, she couldn't be, she refused to feel that way. She made a silent vow amidst her suffering that love would come to her while fully embracing the cold as it did her. It took the color from her cheeks, it froze her eye lids shut using her own tears. In a twisted attempt to convince herself that she wasn't alone, she gave the cold a place in her heart. And it had taken her fully. With this vow and false truth set in place, Kasey never felt so alive or at home in her life. Her parents never embraced her like this, no...nobody EVER embraced her like this, not even Marie. _I will be ok._ Were her last thoughts, slipping into the land of dreams, dying not long after. 

Perhaps that's why Kasey lingered in front of the freezer a bit longer than necessary as Kasey Kent, the temperature was welcoming and offered her another chance, it was what gave her this second chance... The frost was too kind to her. _Am I mad? How will this effect me in the future? Am I damaged?_  She couldn't allow thoughts like this to linger, but they just wouldn't go away sometimes. Running deep into the woods behind his home to blow ice into the air until frosted little flakes coat his clothes helps, the cold's embrace always brought peace. 

Dying at the age of seventeen wasn't on Kasey's mind back then, she wanted to graduate high school and move to a whole different town, start over, maybe find someone who loved her for who she was. It just wasn't meant to be then, but now? She was Kasey Kent, a seventeen-year-old boy just a year away from graduating high school. The same age Kasey was in his previous life, it was the third of November, the exact date he had died the first time around and just like last time, he had he never felt so alive. Nervous, but alive. Mostly because this was about the same time he'd died before. _Am I worried I'll die again?_

In this new life, he wasn't just handsome but drop dead gorgeous! He made the grades he wished he could have the first time around if not better and was in the Karate club, making sure he was third best as not to attract too much attention to himself...He had joined for the sole purpose of never feeling helpless ever again, despite how invincible he was as a Kryptonian amongst powerless humans, though it was more of a psychological reassurance than anything else. Plus he needed to re-learn how to handle people without hurting them if it ever came to a situation where he needed to defend himself or slap someone good-naturedly on the back without sending them through a wall or floor. He took his role very seriously as third best and as a result, he had befriended those in the same club who admired his skill and dedication. Kasey has two loving parents now, a brother he called and deemed the oldest. His intelligent, naive and oblivious older brother with a heart of gold...But even with all the cold has granted him now, Kasey can't help the loneliness spreading through his heart like frost bite. 

He can never ever share his pain with these people, his past experiences, his insecurities, the mental instability he had developed after dying once that could only be sedated with heavy meditation, the cold and afternoon naps. He couldn't tell anyone who he really was, how he felt he was an invader... A stain on a life that wasn't supposed to be his! Not even someone like Harley Quinn would believe a secret that's weight got even bigger each year he's been in this crazy world full of Superheroes and Supervillains...Clark, sweet lovable Clark had discovered they were both Kryptonian just last year at Kasey's side, taken into the shed by their adoptive parents and shown the ship they arrived on earth in...The strange box that took on a silver tint the moment they touched it. Their true parents conveying how they felt about them both, their parents famous last words about protecting the earth. Unwanted new ones to look out for and take care of each other. 

Clark finding out about their Kryptonian roots really did bring them closer together, too, or at least it brought Clark some stability knowing he wasn't the only one who was different. It was like Kasey had become Clark's Anchor. To take it all away by revealing the truth would just crush Clark, Kasey bet. Kasey remembers holding Clark in his arms that day and after spending hours looking for him when he had run off, well, flown off.

 

The poor boy was shaken to the core at what was revealed to them. What it would mean for their future. Kasey made another vow then, to honor Clark's parents wishes. He hugged Clark tightly near this very stream that day, assuring his older brother that they weren't freaks, that being what they were didn't change who they were on the inside, that they would figure this out one day at a time together. He told Clark they would do right by their original parents and adoptive parents using their gifts. "Together..." Had been Clark's shaky reply, bunching the fabric of Kasey's robe from where he had gripped the garment from around Kasey's shoulders. Moisture gathering at the corners of those maddeningly gorgeous blue eyes of his! Kasey hated them, but only because if Clark looked at him like that Kasey just knew he'd end up doing whatever his big brother asked him to do. Clark caught on too, well after three months _AND_ Lana Lang pointing it out, the oblivious softy. And boy did Clark abuse the power he had over his little brother with those puppy dog eyes of his, like last week when he asked Kasey to move to Metropolis with him someday.

 

 

"We could get a big apartment and split the rent right down the middle!" He remembered Clark had said with a boyish grin and dirt on the side of his cheek. They were both shirtless, dressed in nothing but jeans rolled up past their dirty boots. They were helping their Pa tend the cabbage fields out back.  Kasey was in no mood for a discussion this serious when it was this hot out, they were both sweaty and his hair a knotted mess. It might have been the state of Kasey's hair that made him grumpy enough to bark out the word 'no' with the flip of his hair.

 

Clark looked so put out after that, pouting for the rest of the time spent out tending to the fields. Kasey actually felt himself die a little inside seeing as Clark was still moping about the house for a week like a kicked puppy, all because he told Clark no. It didn't take much longer for Kasey to cave. He approached Clark and told him that he'd go with him to Metropolis when the time came, adding with an exasperated sigh that he couldn't picture himself living too far away from his big brother. He didn't expect Clark to pick him up and spin him around with a goofy grin on his face, making Kasey fight a smile and swat at his brother for twirling him like that. Curses.

 

 

Small droplets of water lingered on Kasey's thick eyelashes after the rain stopped, but the tears kept falling. _Wh_ _en did it stop raining?_ Kasey wondered, too lost in his own thoughts to hear the approaching squelching footsteps."There you are!" Came a familiar voice not too far behind him. Kasey gasped, startled as he turned around to face the voice. Water sloshed around Kasey's Ankles, the bottom hem of his robes brushing across the surface of the murky water. Clark was standing by the stream looking very aggravated at his younger brother, holding an umbrella in his left hand, but the moment he noticed Kasey's tears did he discard the plastic carousel umbrella and rush ankle deep into the stream himself. Clark had ruined his brand new red converse sneakers, the hems of his well worn blue jeans now dirtied with brown tinted water.

 

 

"What's the matter?" Clark questioned, the genuine concern in Clark's voice making Kasey's heart churn with what felt like guilt and sorrow even further than it had all day. He couldn't exactly tell Clark that it was the anniversary of his first death. Kasey sighed instead of answering, leaning into Clark's arms as they found their way around Kasey's upper back. "Your freezing!" Clark added, sounding somewhat panicked. Kasey brought his arms up and around Clark's neck, returning his brother's embrace. "I dreamt that I lost you, that I lost everyone..." A half-truth, because 'making believe' was just another way of dreaming, and this dream was highly probable if Kasey told Clark the truth. He already lost Marie..."It must have felt very real to you to have upset you this much." Clark's voice was soft as the slow current brushing against their ankles, as he brought a hand up to stroke the back of Kasey's head soothingly."But you don't have to worry, I'm not going anywhere," He promised, loosening their embrace to pat his younger brother's back. Stupid Clark...With his sickeningly sweet words whose intentions went beyond noble, his heartfelt concern, the naivete. The boy who, without hesitation rushed ankle deep into the stream ruining his new clothes just to comfort Kasey when he could FLY...Ma would be cross with him for that... _I don't deserve you._ Kasey thought, jumping into his brother's arms again, making Clark chuckle.

 

 

"Your all wet," Kasey mumbled against Clark's soft short sleeve V neck T-shirt, noticing Clark's sleeves were rolled up above his developing biceps. "And who's fault is that I wonder." Clark teased, pulling away from Kasey with a playful smirk, a look of adoration in his eyes that Kasey couldn't help but mimic but with a tinge of sadness and guilt welling up in his chest even further if it were possible. Kasey wiped the remaining tears from his eyes with the hem of his soaked sleeves. Clark's cheer was infectious, no matter how down Kasey might feel, Clark's love was truly a blessing that had already started to brighten Kasey's mood. They were qualities in Clark that Kasey treasured and craved more than he should. "Come on, let's get back to the house before Ma sends out a search party." Said Clark, leading his younger brother by the hand out of the steam.

 

 

Kasey stopped them briefly for a moment to kneel, picking up his house slippers, holding each with two fingers from the inside. The boys walk back to the house feeling a little lighter than before, thoughts of bad dreams and one carousel umbrella left behind to float down the stream.

With his eyes on Clark's back, Kasey forced down the question, as to when he'd face the basting again because peace like this, it was too good to be true and never lasted for people like him.


	2. Lana Lang.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a slice of life and Pettiness.

"Do you think Christi's growing radishes in her yard, Jonathan?" Queried Martha Kent, squinting her eyes from where she stood behind the kitchen sink, as she turned off the tap and flicked soap suds that had gathered on tips of her yellow dish-washing gloves into a draining sink. She had been peering out the window at their neighbor's yard for a while now. It's a courter after three on a Saturday at the Kent household and the lady of the house was dressed in a light blue fitted oxford shirt, her sleeves rolled up just above her elbows. The shirt tucked into a pair of high-waisted denim jeans, jeans that were tucked into a pair of light brown cowboy boots. Martha's hair was a dark raven black, Styled in a short poofy bob with bangs that most women around Smallville had if not poofier. Martha Kent hadn't found it necessary to go the extra mile like those women when it came to southern style, who by the way, often lived further in town with comfortable office jobs. No, she was more laid back like most farming wives around here are. You wouldn't see her or Christi Migell with those false nine inch nails painted in bright exuberant colors to match an equally as colorful bulky western belt littered with rhinestones. No, those few who lived around them, themselves included were a little more low maintenance than that. Though she did indulge a little by going to the hair salon every now and then to get the greying roots of her hair dyed back to the shade she sported in her twenties. Martha Kent kept her nails short, her palms almost as calloused as her husbands were from tending to the fields. She had beautiful sunkissed tan skin, her eyes a vibrant blue that matched her boys, a petite, yet tone frame that came with her profession. She had very little lines on her face as she was approaching her late thirties and Kasey, even now, was blown away by just how beautiful this woman truly was. right from the moment he was picked up and held by her that night he and Clark landed on earth and she still is to Kasey, no, she'd always be no matter how old she gets. To sum it up, the woman was a more realistic looking version of Martha Kent from the animated series. 

 

"I think they're turnips, or at least that's what I overheard her telling Hank the other day at the market," Jonathan replied without looking up, pausing for a moment, the sound of the newspaper in his strong rough hands rustling thin paper as he flipped a page with practiced ease afore he continued. "Though I thought they were radishes at first myself," The man was always dressed in worn blue jeans meant for farming in, a plain white slightly stained wife beater and a pair of worn cowboy boots of his own, a pair that were always a bit dirtier than Martha's. He too looked like his own realistic animated series counterpart but with honey brown eyes, though he never bothered doing anything much with his hair like his wife had and as a result he had specks of grey in his short curls. Martha only nodded. "Ah, it's always been a little tricky telling the difference between those two vegetables, especially now. I fear my site isn't what it used to be." Jonathan only chortled, looking up at his wife with a sly grin on his face. "Don't worry darlin, I'll just buy some more of those neon colored shirts you love so much so you won't lose sight of me~" He teased with a wink, causing Martha to turn and face the man with a stern look on her face, her hands residing on her hips, fighting a smile. "And I will throw those monstrous shirts in the trash, Mister, my vision isn't that far gone yet!" She replied playfully, watching Jonathan shifting in his seat, lowering the crinkling paper some to snap his fingers in an over exaggerated attempt to dramatize his false feelings of disappointment. Clark snorted, nearly choking on the sandwich he just bit into as Kasey smiled. Kasey looked over at a very young and bored Lana Lang who was seated beside Clark at the kitchen table who rolled her eyes. They were all eating a light lunch Martha had prepared for them just a few minutes ago, a plate of honey ham, lettuce, and mayo sandwiches. A pitcher of freshly squeezed homemade pink lemonade sitting beside it, along with a few glasses, some half empty. A meal the pretty red head had requested, yet the slouching girl looked absolutely miserable. She hardly touched the food in front of her, looking about ready to move her elbow off the table, allowing her head to slide off her palm and slam hard against the hard wood table. It was a near thing. 

 

The redhead had too looked like her realistic counterpart from the animated series, always dressed in her cheer uniform during the week but on the weekends, just, like today. Lana would bust out the fade washed daisy dukes, a stylish crop top, cowboy boots and a flashy rhinestone buckled belt. Lana Lang truly was a vision of loveliness, but that was beside the point. Knowing each character Kasey had come across thus far had resembled and acted like their animated counterpart, it made things easier for Kasey to pinpoint which earth and or where exactly he is in the DC universe. He just hoped the plot stayed the same in the animated series, or else he couldn't properly prepare for the adventures Clark will unintentionally drag him into once they move to the big city of Metropolis together.

Will there even be a Justice league? Kasey hoped there wasn't, because that would mean running into Martian Manhunter, the Alien, who he recalled, could read minds! An alien who had problems blurting out what people thought near the beginning of the justice league series, and lurk into the depths of what others were thinking without asking! not that Kasey would ever intentionally seek out anyone from the league if he could help it if it even came to be...that was just asking for trouble! Didn't that wonder woman have a lasso that could get the truth out of people or something? Kasey was grateful for Lana's long drawn out yawn bringing him back to present time and out of such troubled ponderings revolving around future as well as highly probably uneventful encounters and events in his upcoming yet far future. 

 

Kasey bit his bottom lip, stifling a laugh, quickly raising the open Vogue magazine he had been skimming through just above his nose to hide his amusement from not only his parent's playful ongoing bickering but at just how different Clark's personality was from Lana's. It was downright laughable! Clark was so oblivious it hurt, sometimes. Like right now he doesn't notice how bored his girlfriend is! Clark is too busy trying not to laugh at his parent's antics. Hell, who was he kidding? Clark never noticed, so Kasey wasn't sure why Lana even tried hinting at Clark that she wanted to leave the kitchen for about maker knows how long, hints that screamed: "Let's go do something fun, somewhere, anywhere else, just not here!". Kasey bit his lip to keep his laughter in, it wouldn't win him any points with Lana if he laughed at her misfortune, the sharp smartie. He could often tell what Lana was thinking, and no, he couldn't read minds, Clark couldn't either. Though he sometimes wished that he himself could! It was just that sometimes he happened to overhear her in the girl's bathroom at school, not all the time, but he had learned just enough over the years to get a good read on the future glamour girl. Like last week for example, with the partially untrained heightened alien senses that allowed him to overhear far too much than what he wanted throughout the school. Lana was conversing with Patty Kandis, A fellow cheerleader on the squad, about how the Kents had to be one of the most average, corny, boring and dry humored families in the whole world and that Clark was lucky he was so good looking and amazing at everything or she'd have broken up with him by now. If not in those exact words, but in Kasey's defense, he was desperately trying to sever the connection at the time rather than listen in, cause the sound of fecal matter slowly leaving the rectum in high definition before lunch was a real appetite killer.

 

Kasey couldn't find it in himself to get offended at what he heard that day, cause one: she wasn't lying, but boring and dry humored was certainly an upgrade from the distant and cold parents Kasey had before. Two: Lana was just being a whiny hypocrite. Her family was almost as boring as theirs is, in fact, every family in Smallville is a little boring. Tweens were just more rebellious and partied hard around bonfires or what have you until they went off to big colleges outside the city, that or they ended up failing or dropping out of high school where they settled down into farm life soon thereafter. Those who do pass usually end up farmers too, or actually go on to do something with their lives like run a small business in or outside the city. Maybe move and get a job outside the city or an office job somewhere around town like most housewives around here. The Lang's were just the only tailors in Smallville that lived farther in town, a little on the eccentric side but in that Dolly Parton kind of way when it came to fashion. 

Knowing that the two tweens wouldn't last as a couple or be apart of his or Clark's life after high school much was just another reason to not intervene and let the plot go on as is. It was only a matter of time too, Kasey wagered. The two lovebirds were just too different. Lana was this little fashionista who focused on partying and the latest trends more than her grades whereas Clark was a goody-two-shoes who made good grades with a growing interest in journalism. The perfect son. The only reason Lana had decided to pine after Clark is because he had saved a child from a burning car last year and that the fact Clark is this powerful attractive alien. OH, and he just HAD to be let the girl who claimed she loved him in on their little secret because poor oblivious Ol Clark deemed her trustworthy, much to Kasey's displeasure. 

 

Kasey was actually curious enough to ask one day, why Clark even dated Lana half a year into their relationship, pointing out how different they were. Clark had said, after pondering for several minutes, that it must have been because opposites attract. Kasey snorted in response, knowing and keeping to himself that that was a load of shit. They both knew it too, or at least Kasey hoped Clark did. Yep, nothing but hormones, the fact Lana was hot and their parts matching up keeping that relationship together. When Clark smirked, arched a brow and asked if Kasey was jealous not even ten seconds later, well, it made Kasey wonder how oblivious Clark really was but refrained from trying to explain his sexual preference and all the obvious signs that hinted towards his orientation. It was a can of worms he didn't want to open anytime soon with Clark, especially not during one of their walks home from school. Besides, if the boy couldn't figure it out after seeing Kasey's victoria secret panties when it was his turn to do the laundry, then Clark was pretty much a lost cause. Perhaps he'd straight out tell Clark one day, because with the way things were going it seemed like it was the ONLY way Clark would understand. 

So, Kasey decided to laugh good-naturedly, patting his poor oblivious brother on the back, telling the boy once his laughter subsided that Lana Lang didn't have the right equipment to be his partner. Clark didn't get it, which only made Kasey laugh even harder and run ahead of Clark, never once giving a clear answer that might have just sounded cryptic to Clark when the poor oblivious boy scout questioned what power tools or was it hiking equipment? that had to do with relationships? 

 

Kasey was just happy Lana Lang didn't pine after him, but that was just because every girl in school thought he was in the closet. Who wouldn't think him a Queer? He often sang aloud songs from the movie Mama mia alongside Lana when they were in theatre class goofing off. They weren't wrong, but even if he wanted to seek out a romantic relationship, there was no way in hell he'd date anyone mentally younger than himself. It just felt dirty and wrong, like he'd be flirting with little brats half his age because mentally he was much older than them. The only thing he and Lana really had in common was their good fashion sense. A topic they would often talk about for hours, boy bands too. Well...when Clark was hanging out with his guy friends and Lana didn't have anyone else to hang out with, which made her see Kasey as more of a friend than a potential love interest. Almost every male in school knew, but if they held prejudice against gays and wanted a fight it would be a bad idea to try and bully the third high ranking member of the karate club, so they didn't try anything. Even If some boys around the school weren't prejudiced, they weren't subtle in masking their discomfort around him and kept their distance somewhat, afraid he might like one of them. As if! Those who really knew Kasey, like his fellow club members he had befriended and of course Lana, all knew he liked older and more mature men as he had told them when asked what his type was upon finding out which team he batted for. It was pretty funny watching their reaction, how relaxed their shoulders were after hearing that. Kasey could feel Lana kicking his shin under the table, bringing him out of his thoughts again.

He lowered the magazine some to see what she wanted. Oh, she was dropping HIM hints now. Her lips thinned into flat line, her eyes looking from him to Clark who was still chuckling some at their parent's ongoing bickering. "Ahem." Lana coughed. Kasey just grinned mischievously from behind the fashion magazine and stood up, the noisy legs of the kitchen chair scooting across the wooden floorboards catching Clark's attention. "Oh don't mind me, just heading to the washroom." Clark only nodded, glancing back to their parents who were now on the subject of corn and Lana looked downright murderous, her cheeks almost the same shade as her hair. 

This was not what she wanted him to do, and he knew it too, he just felt like being petty. With a straight face, Kasey pushed in his chair, rolled up the magazine and walked out of the kitchen towards the bathroom, giggling once he shut the door. Tucking the magazine under his arm, he leaped out of the second story window with grace, his hair which was loosely tied back fluttering along with the bottom hem of his comfy polyester, slim fit, lace-up neck lined hoodie. The fabric of his white skinny jeans bunching around the back of his knee's when landing silently in a crouch, his black converse groaning with the upright bend of his toes, balancing himself. With his hands in the pocket of his hoodie did he slowly rise, shifting his weight to the back of his feet, leaving a very frustrated Lana to stew in that wonderful Kent family normalcy. It was a bit chilly out, but that wasn't unwelcome. "To the hammock!" He muttered unenthusiastically, in a dry monotone, proclaiming to his reading material as if it were Robin and he was Batman that they would soon be speeding off inside the Batmobile. With a lazy smile, Kasey began walking at a leisurely pace around the side of the house to the front yard. The word "Pink" glittered under the few rays of sunlight shining between gray clouds along the front and sides of his hoodie in silver sequins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is his hoodie, just in case you were wondering. 
> 
>  
> 
> https://www.victoriassecret.com/pink/hoodies-and-sweatshirts/perfect-pullover-lace-up-hoodie-pink?ProductID=353307&CatalogueType=OLS&cm_mmc=PLA-_-Google_-VSD_PINK_Apparel-_-3729176GHXS&cc=US&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_aLe4sDZ2gIVmYuzCh1C-wzIEAQYAyABEgITGPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds


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